Kate Garraway, in ITV’s “Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story,” highlights her late husband Derek Draper’s legacy, shedding light on the struggles of living with serious illness and disability in the UK.
Throughout the documentary, Kate emphasized the extensive cost of care and advocated for “the system” to offer financial support to Britain’s estimated 10.6 million unpaid carers.
Sharing how she hopes the ongoing fight for this support will be Derek’s legacy, Kate said:
“If I have any regrets, it’s every single minute I didn’t spend holding his hand because I had to go and write an email, I had to go and make a phone call and fight the system that should be there to catch you when you fall, but when you’re going through it feels like it’s there to catch you out.
“And that’s what I now hope to be Derek’s legacy. To fight on for that change.”
The Good Morning Britain presenter also disclosed that Derek taught her the invaluable lesson of “never giving up fighting for what is right”.
“It’s not about Derek or me, it’s about having a society where caring isn’t a luxury. We are all going to need it,” she continued.
“And it’s not about somebody coming round to cut up your food because you’re feeling a bit weak, it’s about somebody giving you a chance of living. It’s sort of belittled as though it’s not as valuable as the skill of a surgeon.
“The skill of a carer to spot when things are changing has saved Derek’s life so many times over the last four years. And, yes, it was taken, but my god those four years had value.”
Derek fell ill after contracting COVID-19 in March 2020 and endured a 13-month hospital battle against the virus’s effects. He was readmitted in December 2023 after a cardiac arrest and sadly passed away in January.
